Producing hydrogen.



H. KELLER.

. PRonucmG'HYDRoGEN.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I9. 1913.

,286,650. Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

Figi.

@mi M I@ I@ Unirnn srs HANS KELLER, OF LUDWIGSHFEN -ON TIIERHI1\TE, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO BADISCHE f ANILIN &,SODA FABRIK, OF LUDWIGSHAFEN-OhlfrTHE-RHINE. GERMANY, A CORPO- RATION 0F BADEN.

PRODUCING Iisrnnoeniv.A

Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

Application led April 19, 191m Serial No. 762,246.

To all 'who/mt may concern:

yBe it knownthat I, HANS KELLER, a citizen of the German Empire, residing at Ludwigshafen-on-the-Rhine, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Producing Hydrogen, -of which the following is a specification.

It is known that hydrogen can be obtained by passing steam' over iron at a raised temperature and that iron oXid thus formed' can be reduced by means of suitable gases into metallic iron, lor ferrous oXid, whereupon the treatment with steam is repeated and the process becomes cyclic. e Various forms of iron have been employed for this purpose, such for instance as -iron turnirigs, iron shavings, and iron sponge, but the forms hitherto employed have not proved completely suitable, as after a time the surface of the iron loses its full activity.

I have now found that hydrogen can be very advantageously obtained according to the aforesaid process by employing a orous, or spongy, lron, which has been o tamed from iron ore,or iron oxid, of any origin by surroundinor it with carbon and transmitting heat through the carbon to the said iron ore or iron oXid. Such a product is that known as Swedish iron sponge and can be obtained according to the specification of British Patent-No. 1134/11. OtherI forms of iron .with similar properties which have been obtainedby the method described can alsov be employed when carrying. out this invention.

of said porous or spongy iron is carried out by passing steam over the iron at a raised temperature, whereafter the iron oxid formed can be retransformed into the metallic spongy iron by passing a reducing gas a short time in the production of hydrogen,

it becomesvery hard, but in spite of this remains very porous and reactionable. e

An apparatus suitable for carrying out the process of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In these,

Figure 1 represents 'a vertical section of the apparatus and Fig. 2 is a plan View 0f .the

T he production of hydrogen with the aid same. Similar letters and igures in the drawings refer to similar parts. In the drawings, t is the reaction or generator furnace, a and c are heat regenerators, each being well isolated against loss of heat. The regenerators comprise a combustion channel l and 21 and a net work of lreproo bricks 2 and 22. rIhe spongy iron which has been previously prepared as described by embedding iron oXid in carbon and then transmitting heat through the carbon to the said iron oxid, 'is contained in the shaft of the. reaction furnace, while Z and e are three-way valves capable of being cooled. The method of working mayA be, faovr instance, as follows: i

The regenerators are first heated toa high temperature by burning in them a mixture of generator gas or water-gas with air, while the waste gases pass, through the valves 8 and 9, into the chimney. As .soon as the desired temperature is attained, one of the valves leading to the chimney, for instance -8,is closed and, after opening valve 10, re-

ducing gas is first blown through the apparatus in the vdirections 2-1-12-1418'3- 17-13-21-'-229 or 2-1e-12-16-3-19 15 13--21 22 9, whereby the spongy iron in the `furnace b is heated, an alternate passing of the gases from above and from below through the furnace further causing the iron to attain a fairly uniform temperature. The reducing gases leaving the furnace are mixed with the necessary amount of air from 5 and burnt in o. When the temperature in the regenerator a; diminishes, the gases are passed through the apparatus in the reverse direction, that is to say, from 11 to S, so that the regenerator a is again raised to a high temperature. If desired, however, the fall of temperature 1n the regeuerator can be diminished by adding a small quantity of air to the reduction gases, whereupon an equivalent small quantity of reducing gas it burnt in the regenerator. When the necessary temperature in the reaction furnace is attained, assuming the gases were last passed in the direction 10 to 9, the valvelO is closed and *steam is passed through the valve 23, so as to wash out the Whole apparatus with steam or hydrogen, which is formed by the action of the steam upon the heated spongy iron 3, preferably allowing the steam to enlfromgsabove; the impure v first formed is mixed'with burnt-in the combustion chamber 21 of theA ter v4the. shaft 3 of the` generator furnace hydrogen which is air from 5 and regenerator o. lThe three-way yvalve d is Vthen y so operated that the steam passes into 3, and' the val-ve 25 is through l16. u .ppened and t e valve 13 lis closed, Whereupon the hydrogen passes" off ina through to the gasorneter;

oxidation period is l When the over, thereaction mass `'isf again reducedfbyjpassing reducing gases *through theapparatus in the direction 10 to -J9`asabovedscribed. The valves 4, 6,'7 and V24 are for' usein supplying combustible gas,v

25,. regeneratqr is being raised -againby burnpure state eriods,

reverse direction, so-

temperature, 'gives ing, the excess of reducinggases therein, either alone or with fresh 'as in addition.

The drawing however ilustrates oni one of the numerous apparatus capablel of` eing employed for carryingl out the present invention and for instance, the reaction furnace can alsobe directl l heated. ,The invention is in no way confined to the use of any particular form of the apparatus.

Now what I claim isz- The cyclic process of by alternately passinggsteam and a reducing gas mixture at a raised temperature over spongy' iron which has been produced by embedding an Oxy-compound of i'ron in carbon 'and transmitting heat through the carbon to the said Oxy-compound of iron.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. l

DR. HANS I QsLLn'n. Witnesses:

J. ALEC. LLOYD, JOSEPH PFEIFFER.

producing hydrogen v 

